It's Good To Have A Plan
by sammy1026
Summary: Catherine tells Steve about her plan to find Sato.


"I thought you could use some dinner," Steve said as he placed a take-out bag, his keys and a 6-pack on the coffee table.

"Thanks."

As soon as she saw that he had brought home dinner, Catherine smiled. He had clearly heard about her new project. Bringing home food when he knew she was focused on something else, and most likely wouldn't remember to take time out to eat, was just one the many sweet things he did for her that spoke louder than words ever could.

"Looks like you've been busy." He surveyed the various files and pictures arrayed in front of her. He never failed to be impressed by Catherine's ability to not only gather, but organize, large amounts of information in a short period of time.

"I'm just taking your advice."

She had known he was right about needing to find a way to forgive herself for Billy's death practically from the minute the words had left his mouth on Halloween night. But without the Navy, or a job, to fill her time, she was floundering. She had way too much time to think about, or maybe more precisely overthink, everything that had happened. Luckily Steve recognized the signs, having been through similar situations himself, and stepped in before things went too far.

She thought about a Chinese proverb she had heard once. 'To know the road ahead, ask those coming back'. If anyone knew the best way to get back on track, it was Steve. When she started thinking about what she could find to focus her energy on, nothing seemed more important than finding Adam and bringing Kono home.

Steve gave her a small smile and a nod and she knew he understood how badly she needed this.

"What's the plan?"

"We've got to leverage Kuroda and get him to give up Sato's location. He's our best option at this point. He's known Sato since they were teenagers. He's one of the few people who knows where Sato is at any given minute"

"So how do we get to him?"

"He's very careful, which is probably why Sato trusts him in the first place."

"I think I hear a but coming…"

"But," Catherine smiled, "he has an Achilles heel. I've torn apart his financials. Turns out he's been gambling with Sato's money. And losing. Big."

"No honor among thieves."

"So far he's managed to keep it a secret by moving money around to cover the losses, but it isn't going to be much longer before Sato figures it out. At some point he's going to realize that a lot of money is missing."

"At which point Kuroda is a goner."

"And we lose our chance to use him to get close to Sato. Which is why I have to move fast. If Sato finds out about the missing money he'll kill this guy in a heartbeat and dump him in the ocean and we'll be back to square one."

Steve points to the picture of Kuroda's bodyguards Catherine had snapped surreptitiously earlier at the hotel. "Looks unlikely his associates want to let anyone near him without putting up a fight."

"Exactly. So I have to make a move when they aren't around."

"When's that? "

Steve couldn't help but notice the spark and the fire coming back into Catherine's eyes.

"Judging from his bank records, he makes a trip to the casino every morning. I followed him this morning and he was completely alone. No driver. No bodyguards. He doesn't want anyone to see how much money he's losing. I'm not sure what excuse he uses to shake them but they were nowhere in sight. The gambling is his dirty little secret. He's not letting anyone in."

Steve had to bite his tongue to keep from pointing out that the last time she found herself entangled in someone's dirty little secret, John Cutler and Billy ended up dead.

He knew, probably better than anyone, that sometimes missions go wrong. And the cold, hard fact is you just need to move past it as quickly as possible. If you don't, self-doubt gets a chance to take hold and that can kill a person faster than anything else in their line of work.

"Anyone else who might be with him?"

"He's got a wife and two kids at home. A mistress here on the island with him. Other than the bodyguards, they're about it. There's no one he shares his gambling with."

"What's your approach?"

"Draw him away from the crowd and get him into a one on one situation. Then convince him he's better off taking his chances with me than dealing with a boss who knows he's been skimming money."

"Back up?"

"None. I have to do this alone. We can't risk spooking him."

"Catherine.."

"Listen, Steve, I know what you're gonna say but hear me out. This needs to happen quick and easy. He can't get even a hint that something is going down or we're gonna lose him, and maybe Adam, forever."

"He'd have no reason to be suspicious of Chin or Danny or me. He doesn't know us."

"No, but half of the other people in the casino do. And quite a few of them wouldn't be exactly happy to see you. If just one of them spotted you, or any other member of 5-0, word would spread in about two seconds."

"So we make the approach somewhere else."

"Anywhere else he's gonna have muscle with him. And that raises the chances something goes wrong."

Steve ran his hand through his hair trying to get his frustration under control. She was right, of course. Op planning was one of her strengths. But that didn't mean he had to like it. Still, he knew it was important that this op be all hers. She certainly didn't need to prove anything to him but he knew from experience she needed to prove it to herself.

"I don't like the idea of you going in alone."

"I can take care of myself, Steve." Catherine tried very hard to sound reassuring as opposed to defensive.

"I am well aware you can take care of yourself, Catherine. And in a one-on-one with anyone, I'd bet on you. But what happens if things go sideways and this guy has backup you hadn't anticipated?"

"I'll make sure I keep things in a location of my choosing the whole time. I'll know exactly how to get out fast if things start going south."

Steve looked at her skeptically.

"This is basic stuff, Steve. Just get the guy alone and convince him I'm the only chance he has to get out of this alive."

"So let's say he gives you the information you're looking for. Then what?"

"Then I bring it to you and we make a new plan. I'm not going to go off half-cocked and try a single-handed raid on Sato's compound."

Steve chuckled, remembering he had suggested just that possibility to Chin. As much as he hated the idea of her going after Kuroda alone, with no backup, he knew she was more than capable of pulling off the operation without a hitch.

"Would you consider giving it a few more days to see if surveillance turns up another possible way to get close to him?"

Catherine laid he hand on his thigh. "You know that's too big a chance to take. It took me 15 minutes to figure out that Kuroda was skimming money. Sato could come to the same conclusion at any minute."

"Ok, but if you get a bad feeling at all…."

"I'll bail. I promise."

"And if you feel like something is going really wrong…"

"You'll be my first call," she said as she leaned over and gave him a soft kiss on the lips.

"Okay then. Let's warm up this food and we can go over the specifics of the casino location while we eat."

"I have blue prints," Catherine smiled, reaching in to pile of papers and pulling them out.

"Of course you do."

Her smile brightened. She knew he hated this whole idea but the fact that he was willing to get past that and let her do what she needed to do meant more to her than anything. She felt better than she had since the night Cutler got shot.

It's always good to have a plan.


End file.
